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Maybe you’re an estate planning nerd and reading about the different types of wills just butters your biscuit, but chances are slim. You’re probably here because you want to know which type of will is best for your situation. And if that’s the case, we’ve got you!

Understanding the different kinds of wills doesn’t have to be confusing. There are four common types of wills: simple wills, mirror-image wills, testamentary trust wills and living wills. We’ll break those down (and some less common ones too) so you can make a smart choice and create the will that’s right for you.

Common Types of Wills

Simple Wills

A simple will is a basic last will and testament without any fancy clauses or requirements. Despite its name, you can do a lot with a simple will. In addition to naming the beneficiaries (the people you want to receive your assets when you die), you’ll also choose a personal representative or executor. This is the person who’ll make sure the terms of your will are carried out, like how you want your stuff given away and who gets it.

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With a simple will, you can also name a guardian to take care of your kids if something happens to you. You can even name who you want to care for your favorite ferret. A simple will can cover a lot of ground. And the best part? You can easily make one online. A simple online will is the most affordable will you can choose, with an average cost of about $100–300.

Simple wills are best for people with estates worth less than $1 million and uncomplicated family situations.

Mirror-Image Wills

Mirror-image wills are a great option for married couples. They’re drafted almost identically, with each testator (the person making the will) signing their own will. Generally, they’re mirror-image simple wills.

This option spells out what happens to the estate if he dies first and what happens to the estate if she dies first. And both wills have the same plan for who gets the estate if both spouses die at the same time.

Often, mirror-image wills state that the surviving spouse inherits the estate and cares for the kids, but other details may be different. Because mirror-image wills are actually two different wills, part of the estate can go to someone besides the surviving spouse. So, you can leave the antique family brooch to your sister and give the rest of your stuff to your spouse.

The other advantage of a mirror-image will is that you can change it. This can be important if you remarry, go through a divorce, or decide to disinherit a family member for other reasons. That flexibility is one of the reasons financial experts like Dave Ramsey recommend mirror-image wills.

Testamentary Trust Wills

This is where trusts and wills meet. This type is a will that creates a trust when you die. Inside the will, you give instructions that a trust is to be made and that certain or all of your assets will go inside. You can create more than one testamentary trust in your will.

This kind of will and trust combo is a must for anyone with minor children because it allows you to appoint someone to manage their inheritance for them until they get old enough to handle it themselves. You can specify that time—like their 25th birthday or after their college graduation.

A testamentary trust is also used when you want to provide for a relative with special needs or someone you feel isn’t ready for the inheritance.

Sometimes the trust will last for the lifetime of the beneficiary, like in the case of providing for a special needs relative. The trust will state who gets whatever is left over once that beneficiary dies.

A testamentary trust will not help you avoid probate like living trusts will. But it has safeguards built in so that whoever is managing the inheritance held in trust (for your kids or whoever) can’t take advantage of their position. Until the beneficiaries receive their inheritance, the trustee (the person who’s in charge of the trust) has to go to probate court every year to prove they’re taking care of your stuff like they’re supposed to and aren’t using it for personal gain. Costs for those probate visits will come out of the estate.

Living Wills

Even though the names are similar, a living will is not a last will and testament. Instead, a living will is a document that explains your wishes for your end-of-life medical care if you can’t speak for yourself (it happens more often than you might think).

This type of will lets you maintain control of your life and future even if you’re seriously injured or terminally ill. If you become literally unable to speak for yourself because of an accident or medical problem, a living will can speak to family and doctors for you. That way, you can make sure you won’t get a feeding tube or that crazy expensive, 1%-chance-of-success treatment if that’s not what you want.

Keep in mind, though, no matter how much you research the medical field, the living will is always going to be limited to what you knew when you wrote it. On top of that, nobody can know all the possible issues that might come up in a hospital. That’s why a detailed living will should always be paired with a medical power of attorney (POA).

With a medical POA, the person you named (like your spouse or trusted friend) knows what you would want done under the circumstances and will make the best possible choice for you.

Living wills and POAs go hand in hand—you shouldn’t have one without the other. In fact, in some states it’s illegal to have a living will without a POA.

Also keep in mind that states have different laws around living wills. For instance, in Michigan and Massachusetts, there are no laws recognizing living wills. Instead, you create advance care directives or use a medical proxy. For a living will to be valid in Florida, it must be witnessed by two adults, but at least one must be neither a spouse nor a blood relative.

Other Types of Wills

Joint Wills

A joint will is a document created by two people who decide to leave their assets to each other (think husband and wife). It’s a single document two people sign. In it, the couple agrees that when one spouse dies, the other inherits the whole estate. When the surviving spouse dies, their stuff goes to a person (or people) the couple decided on.

These are becoming less common because the surviving spouse can’t change a joint will after the death of their spouse. So, if a surviving spouse remarries and has a stepchild, they can’t leave anything in the joint will to that stepchild.

And this issue isn’t limited just to situations of remarriage and stepchildren. Sometimes people want to change their wills in situations where a child (and potential heir) goes off the rails or is living in an unhealthy way. In cases like this, the ability to adjust a will as circumstances change is important. But you can’t do that if you and your deceased spouse had a joint will. A better option is for both spouses to have mirror-image wills.

Holographic Wills

Nope, the holographic will wasn’t invented at a sci-fi convention. It’s a last will and testament that’s written entirely in the testator’s own handwriting, including the signature, and it’s not witnessed. Believe it or not, these wills are still around. People in life-threatening situations (a soldier in a combat zone, for example) may write one if they think they might not survive.

In some states, holographic will documents must be dated by the testator, but they don’t need to be signed by a witness. Some states, like Florida, don’t consider these wills valid. So if you have one, make sure it’s accepted where you live. With today’s technology, it’s a whole lot easier to create a will online and save your family the possible legal fees, heartache and frustration of an invalid will.

Pour-Over Wills

Unless you’re putting your coffee estate in your will, pour-over wills aren’t about coffee—although a latte sounds nice right about now. A pour-over will dictates that any assets in an estate that aren’t already in a living trust should be put into one. It’s kind of like a fail-safe cleanup will for people with a living trust.

Living trusts are created and funded (all the stuff is put in) during the life of the person making it. But you can get a pour-over will to provide for anything that got left out or was acquired after the trust was created. This type of will dictates that those additional assets are to be placed in the trust as well.

Nuncupative Wills

Words like nuncupative are one of the reasons why people avoid doing wills—the legal jargon is just so weird. But a nuncupative will is just a last will and testament that’s spoken instead of written down. This kind of will is made because the testator (person making the will) may pass away soon.

Nuncupative wills have rules that differ from state to state, much like holographic wills. Some states require that the testator be in their final illness (like a terminal illness) without requiring them to be near death. Other states are more restrictive and require the testator to be near death with no hope of recovery.

In some states, a nuncupative will is valid only if three or more people witness the person speaking. In New York, oral wills are only recognized if the testator is on active military duty, accompanying the military during armed conflict, or serving as a mariner at sea. Some states require the witness to write down the nuncupative will within a certain amount of time after being spoken, and other states won’t recognize a spoken will at all. Florida is one of these. Plus, some states that do accept spoken wills only allow them to give away personal property (things like cars, furniture or cash), and not other assets like real estate.

Deathbed Wills

A deathbed will is exactly what it sounds like—you create it if you’re facing certain death. You can write and sign it by hand, or you can type it out and sign it in the presence of witnesses. And it’s pretty similar to the holographic wills we mentioned above. The only real difference is that holographic wills are always handwritten—never typed.

The thing about deathbed wills is, they’re almost always written at times of very high stress for everyone involved. No matter how you create one, this kind of will can cause all sorts of problems. They’re often filled with errors because they’re written so quickly. And it might be harder to prove them as valid.

Here’s something to keep in mind: This kind of will is very likely to get challenged. For example, your mental state (aka testamentary capacity) might be called into question because of things like stress, pain medications or the nature of your illness. A deathbed will can also be challenged if it looks like you don’t understand what you’re giving away (and who you’re giving things away to).

On top of that, there’s a chance you might accidentally leave out some of your estate assets, so that means the court would decide what happens to those things. Nobody wants that.

Which Type of Will Is Right for You?

The kind of will you should choose depends on a lot of factors—like how much money you have, whether you’re married or have kids, and whether you have a lot of debt. But here’s the good news:

1. You’re thinking about this now, so you won’t need to worry about holographic, nuncupative or deathbed wills.
2. Simple wills are all most people need.
3. You don’t have to go to a lawyer’s office or spend a fortune to make a simple will.

With RamseyTrusted^® provider Mama Bear Legal Forms, you can create your own will online from the comfort of your couch! All you have to do is plug in your information, and the rest is done for you. This will package even comes with a testamentary trust will provision if you have kids.

Everyone needs a will, so we’re proud of you for looking into this. Creating a will is one of the most important and loving things you can do for your family. Why? Because confusion and stress are the last thing anyone needs when they’re grieving. An organized estate plan gives them a clear path ahead.

Get your will done today and check it off your list.